Crosby, Kunitz receive Olympic rings from Hockey Canada

Penguins linemates Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz don't just have Olympic gold medals – they now have Olympic rings, too (just one each, though – not five).

It was fitting that on Olympic Day, Crosby and Kunitz received their championship rings from Hockey Canada commemorating the gold medal they won at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia this past February.

Crosby, Kunitz and the rest of their Canadian Olympic teammates were given their rings on Monday during the Hockey Canada Foundation Celebrity Classic. The foundation’s 11th annual gala and golf tournament celebrated the on-ice accomplishments of Hockey Canada’s national teams that won gold medals at the Olympic Games and IIHF World Championships.

It was also fitting that the ceremony took place in Vancouver, the site of the 2010 Olympics – where Crosby, then an alternate captain, scored the winning overtime goal against the United States in the Gold Medal Game.

Four years after the Golden Goal, Crosby – now team captain – and the rest of Team Canada went undefeated in Olympic play and defeated Team Sweden in the Gold Medal Game to successfully defend its gold medal from 2010. Both Crosby and Kunitz scored clutch goals in the 3-0 win.

It was the 26-year-old Crosby’s second gold medal in as many tries, while this was the 34-year-old Kunitz’s first-ever Olympic appearance. Crosby hopes that he'll have a chance to go for a third in another four years.

"I go back to my two experiences," Crosby told Rogers SportsNet. "They were pretty good. To think of all the things that had to happen to make them work, especially in Russia, it would be a similar case, maybe even a little more difficult the next one. Like I said, representing your country and to have those opportunities, I don’t think that ever gets old, no matter what the situation. As a player, you want to be part of that."

* In other Team Canada news, Penguins prospect Tristan Jarry was one of 41 players invited to attend Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek summer development camp, set for Aug. 3-8 in Brossard, Montreal and Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Jarry and the rest of the invitees will continue to be monitored during the first few months of the 2014-15 season and at the CHL Subway Super Series to determine who will be invited to Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp in December.

In total, 22 players will be selected to represent Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2014 to Jan. 5, 2014 in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. If Jarry makes the team, which would be his first time representing Team Canada in international competition, it would be yet another special accomplishment to add to his promising young career.

After Pittsburgh traded up to select Jarry with the 44th overall pick in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, the British Columbia native went on to craft an incredible season with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. He helped the Oil Kings win the Memorial Cup championship in his first season as Edmonton’s No. 1 goaltender.

Jarry, 19, finished the regular season by leading all WHL goaltenders in wins (44), goals-against average (2.24) and shutouts (t-8). Jarry’s overall record was 44-14-2. He was selected to the Eastern Conference First All-Star Team and was nominated for the WHL Goaltender of the Year award.